Taking FEAR Out of Your Brand- Guest Post from Julie Story

*** Today’s guest post is from International branding specialist, Julie Story! We just LOVE this girl for her heart, her honestly, and her amazing ability to pull out the best in others! We know you are going to love her too!

Tired of your current brand? Ready for a new look? Before you jump into the process, here are three things to do BEFORE you get started!EVICT FEAR– By far, the most fundamental thing I have seen photography business owners struggle with is fear. Fear is in the driver’s seat of most people’s businesses and it is navigating their choices and stopping the progression of those entrepreneurs. Fear gets access to us through the lies we agree with and chains us down by own misperceptions of who we are. It births the “I’m not” statements and buries itself deep in our hearts to keep us chained to an imaginary floor. When we are in agreement with the lies about ourselves, it costs us everything in our business. Love is the antidote. Love drives out the fear and replaces it with the truth. It loosens the grip of the “I’m nots” and replaces it with the “I ams.” I am enough, I am going to be successful, I am lovable, and I am making an impact. If you believe the lies of fear, it will keep you from moving forward in your business, even if you have a gorgeous brand. Start with loving yourself in the places where fear is invading and get the truth to any lies.

LET GO– Before you brand, it’s important that you let go of any control and perfectionist expectations. Expectations of perfection can create a whirlwind of frustration for you and your designer that kill the creative process. The more you believe that you will be a success and that this brand is going to connect you to the right people, the more you can trust your choice in your designer. Control is rooted in fear, it kills the creative spirit, robs you of enjoyment and can make your designer what to quit their dream job – literally. Expect that your designer is going to work hard to serve you well and together you will create a brand that gives you a platform to connect to more people.

LOVE YOU FIERCELY – Sounds simple, right? The reality is most people have never given themselves permission to celebrate who they are. One of the best things we can do for our companies is being totally confident in our gifts and our greatness. Own what you are great at, remain humble and gracious knowing our gifts were given to us to love the world on purpose with a purpose. The truth is, we are fantastic and if we believe that our gifts will make an impact on the world, we have set ourselves up to build a brand on our purpose rather than look for a designer to give us personal identity through design. Getting to know ourselves is a key foundation to building a brand. When we know who we are, what we are great at, and we fiercely love ourselves… we are able to clearly communicate that greatness to our designer and our future clients.

***If you loved this post, good news! There is more where that came from! Sign up for Julie’s newsletter and get content just like this sent right to your inbox. PLUS as a bonus, you’ll get free designs every other week! Sign up by going HERE!

I’m such a die hard Julie fan! I’m actually in the middle of working on a project with her as I’m writing this and this post is SO HER! I love it! I love her message of loving yourself & loving others well. She is so incredibly talented and has such a wonderful heart!

He takes my hand and we walk. Out into the uncertain, out into the unknown. But walking, always walking, in the direction of our dreams. I talk and he listens. Talk about nothing, talk about everything… Read more>